News from around the web: 2009-09-13

I guarantee you the job cuts will be disproportionately outside Germany.

But if you listened to Larry Summers you’d think we were out of the woods. It is premature to take a victory lap.

Expect more of this.

"There are generally two ways to upgrade a computer from one Windows operating system to a newer version. You can either backup all of your data, do a clean install, and then reinstall all of your programs and copy all of your data back to the hard drive, or you can do an "upgrade" which should keep your files, settings, and all compatible programs intact. Now, reading those two descriptions, you would think that the latter would be faster and easier. And indeed, for many users, it is easier. But it’s rarely faster."

"One thing that seems increasingly clear is the market has been dancing around the question, “what is the perfect computing form factor between smartphone and full notebook?” for some time. The unexpectedly popular netbook craze is one answer to that. I think Apple’s tablet will be another."

The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.

"On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush’s two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked."

Fascism is on the rise. Here is an example from Germany. Beware – economic downturns increase this type of activity.

"On Aug. 16, pastor Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Ariz., told his congregation that he prays for the death of President Obama. In a sermon titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," Anderson preached: "I’m not going to pray for his good, I’m going to pray he dies and goes to hell." "

"If the government requires everyone — or nearly everyone — to have health insurance, the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry will reap a bonanza. What the Democrats still have to make clear to ordinary working men and women is how this latest incarnation of health care reform will be cost effective and broadly beneficial to them and to their government."

China decried a U.S. decision to impose added duty on Chinese-made tires, saying the move sent a dangerous protectionist signal before a G20 summit and could stoke reactions impeding global recovery.

"for now, Skype, you’re going in the wrong direction. Instead of killing your limited APIs and tools, you should be expanding them dramatically."

U.S. President Barack Obama slapped steep additional duties on tire imports from China on Friday in a move that pleased domestic labor groups but drew a strong rebuke from Beijing.

China’s economy showed fresh signs on Friday that its recovery was gathering pace, with data showing that investment, industrial output and credit all expanded more rapidly in August, although the government still believes it is too soon to begin tightening policy.

"The aftermath of Afghanistan’s elections has been uglier and more consequential than the campaign that preceded the voting. It has become clear that President Hamid Karzai’s bid for reelection was tainted by widespread fraud, a development that represents the Obama administration’s first significant failure in foreign affairs."

"Fixing the system requires this business model to be broken up and we would go beyond conventional Glass-Steagall type solutions."

"Album artwork? Nope. Progress indicator? Nope. Previous, Play/Pause, and Next buttons and a balloon with the current track’s title, artist, and album name. This is the best Apple can do? It’s not even close to as slick as what this independent developer knocked together for Foobar2000. Feel free to share your take on iTunes 9 for Windows in the comments."

Distraction of the Day: Serena Williams’ meltdown

In a profanity-laced tirade worthy of or surpassing John McEnroe, Serena Williams angrily responds to the worst foot fault call of the century. For her unsportswoman-like conduct, she gets tossed. As a tennis fan, I find the whole encounter troubling on so many levels.